SouthCoast donors do their part to keep Obama rolling in campaign cash

Wednesday

Oct 29, 2008 at 11:08 AM

As part of his record-setting nationwide haul of $151 million in September alone, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama collected more than $30,000 from SouthCoast residents.

Steve DeCosta

As part of his record-setting nationwide haul of $151 million in private contributions in September alone, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama collected more than $30,000 from SouthCoast residents.

His opponent, Republican nominee John McCain, received $726 from the area.

And he has to send it all back.

Back in the summer, the candidates had to decide where to accept public money for their campaigns or try to raise as much as they could in individual donations. They couldn’t do both.

Sen. McCain decided to take the $84.1 million in public financing, but that locked in his spending at that amount, prohibiting him from soliciting or accepting private contributions from the time of his party’s convention though Election Day.

“If someone sends him a check, he’s got to send it back,” said Doug Roscoe, associate professor of political science at UMass Dartmouth.

Click here to see how much local residents contributed to presidential campaigns, dating back to January 2007

Sen. Obama originally said he would accept public financing, but then changed his mind, allowing him to spend as much as he can collect.

And he’s been collecting a bundle. His $151 million in contributions in September — that’s $5 million a day — is the most ever raised by any candidate in a single month, and he’s doing it in a fashion unprecedented in American politics.

“His percentage of fundraising from small donations is remarkable,” Dr. Roscoe said, with almost half of his $579 million in individual contributions coming in donations of $200 or less.

With his message of change, Sen. Obama is reaching out through e-mail and Internet solicitations to people who have never before contributed to political campaigns.

“This is something brand new for me,” said John Walters, a laboratory equipment salesman from Lakeville who gave $50 to the Obama campaign. “I’ve never contributed before.”

So why now?

“It’s probably because this is the most urgent election in my lifetime — I’m 57. Since the Trickster (Richard Nixon) in the ’60s and ’70s, the GOP has done a tremendous amount of damage to this country and we need to make a change.”

Sen. Obama’s message “resonates very strongly with individuals,” Dr. Roscoe said. “If you look at donating as an expressive act, he activates the sense that there is a higher purpose, that he stands for something bigger than us, and that we can be a part of it.”

Dorothy Burrill, a Marion resident who described herself as “semi-retired and almost 70,” has made at least two $25 donations.

“Every time I get a little money in, whether it’s from a small pension, Social Security or from a teaching job, I try to send a piece of it to Obama,” she said.

Why?

“I believe in his philosophy and what he stands for incredibly,” Ms. Burrill said. “He’s a transformational figure. He’s got a lot of intelligence and dignity and I believe he’ll raise our stature internationally.”

Owen Murray, a Dartmouth retiree, agreed.

“I haven’t contributed (to political candidates) in a while. I was an active supporter of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as was my father. There are a lot of similarities between them as candidates with a new vision of where we should be going as a country. I think it’s important for a leader to be able to bring people together.”

Mr. Murray, who said he has “probably given about $200 but in amounts of $25 or less,” said he appreciated the ease of giving in small increments over the Internet

“I’m retired and I don’t have a large income, so it makes sense to contribute in small amounts,” he said. “And the use of the Internet makes it easier. You don’t have to go looking for your checkbook. You just have to make a few clicks and then pay it the next month.”

Brock Cordeiro, state Republican committeeman from Dartmouth and Bristol County coordinator for the McCain campaign, said many Republicans would have liked the opportunity to continue contributing to their man.

“I think there’s some frustration out there,” he said. “Most people I know are small donors and they’re saying, ‘I’d like to donate $50 but I can’t,’ or, ‘I thought I could donate my $50, but I can’t.’ ”

In this election cycle, which began on Jan. 1, 2007, Sen. Obama has collected $132,368 from individuals in SouthCoast. That’s more than twice the amount SouthCoasters donated to Sen. McCain — $62,854 — in the same time period.

The Republican picked up most of that cash after it became clear he was going to win his party’s nomination, getting almost $40,000 after March 1. Previously, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney had collected the lion’s share of Republican contributions — $48,514 — around SouthCoast.

At that point, Sen. Obama was still embroiled in primary campaigns against Hillary Clinton, and SouthCoast Democrats were still pouring money into her campaign. All told, Sen. Clinton collected $48,844 from SouthCoast, with $14,320 of that coming after March 1.

While Sen. Obama has a wide lead in fundraising and Sen. McCain, by accepting public funding, is limited in what he can spend, the gap in overall campaign spending isn’t as wide as it might seem.

While Sen. McCain can’t accept individual contributions, the Republican National Committee can spend on his behalf, as the Democratic National Committee can for Sen. Obama.

In addition, the candidates’ joint-fundraising committees, also known as “victory committees,” can spend whatever they can raise.

Taking those factors into account, the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute, which tracks money in politics, concluded that the Obama campaign would have a 3-to-2 advantage in available funds over the McCain campaign.

Without a substantial overhaul of the system, Sen. Obama’s fundraising success likely has doomed the future of public financing of presidential campaigns.

“This is the first time a candidate has skipped the general election,” Dr. Roscoe said, although most candidates have not accepted public financing for the primaries. Because of the amount of cash Sen. Obama has been able to generate, “I think, in 2012, you’re probably going to see both candidates opt out of it.”

The UMass Dartmouth professor said that Sen. McCain, in agreeing to accept public financing, probably miscalculated. “It was probably based on his guess of what he thought he could actually raise.”

While the primary purpose of public funding is “to remove the influence of private donors and to minimize corruption or the temptations of corruption,” Dr. Roscoe said the system never has been completely embraced by the public. “People see it as a giveaway to to people who don’t really need it.”

The money for public funding of campaigns comes from a check-off on income tax forms that asks the taxpayer if he or she wants to donate $3 to the fund. That doesn’t provide enough money to adequately fund the system, Dr. Roscoe argued.

“If campaigns were funded more robustly, say from the general fund rather than from the check-off, that’s a good investment in democracy.”

“It’s really not that much money. If you take all the spending in the congressional and presidential races in 2004, all spending by the candidates, political parties and interest groups comes to $2.6 billion. That sounds like a lot of money, but it’s our democracy. That spending helps us learn about the candidates and make better choices.”

Contact Steve DeCosta at sdecosta@s-t.com

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